The Morton Arboretum & An Update

Yesterday we took a drive to the west side of Chicago to Morton Arboretum.  It's a place we have been meaning to go to since we lived in Evanston the first time, and we finally got around to it.  We're so glad we did!  Morton Arboretum is a 1,700 acre botanical preserve full of hiking and biking trails.  It is similar to the Chicago Botanic Garden, but with fewer flowers and more trees. We were happy to find out that our membership to the Botanic Garden got us in to the Arboretum as well.  Yay for free activities!

Picnicking before our visit

We had a picnic lunch before starting our journey.  Oliver loved being a big boy sitting at the table all by himself (although Brian propped his leg behind Ollie so he didn't fall backwards).  Temperatures had taken a fall overnight and we all needed to bundle up to stay warm.  We were thankful to find a table in the sun, but I must say that I LOVED the weather.  Brian and I agree that the chilly days of Fall beat the hot days of Summer any day.

Playing in a fountain

Our first stop was a hedge maze.  We wound our way through the paths and eventually found our way back out.  Our second stop was the Children's Garden.  We let Ollie lead the way here and he was quite the explorer, checking out anything that he could get his hands on.  

Ollie meets some nature friends

The Children's Garden is a huge place in itself.  There are so many little garden 'rooms' with different activities for children to do.  There's a shallow stream with rocks sticking out that are intended for walking on.  There's an area where kids can water and care for flowers and plants.  There are look-out towers to climb on.  Oliver had a blast wandering through these areas.

Our family in a garden globe

After we left the Children's Garden we decided to hike one of the many trails through the fields and woods. We had the stroller for Oliver so we had to stay on more paved paths, which meant we had to share those paths with bikes and cars.  Next time we will take the backpack to put Oliver in so we can hike more of the off-road paths.  Still, we soaked up the sun and breathed in as much fresh air as we could.  It's a beautiful place to go for a walk.

Ollie and Mom on the hike

We were all pretty tired after we got back to the car.  We got back on the highway and drove north where we made a pit-stop at IKEA.  Then it was homeward for us.  We had a great day and hope to make it back to the Arboretum sometime soon.

The Book Monster is at it again

As a little update, I know we posted a video a while back of Oliver unloading the book shelf.  Well, he still does it.  This is a common sight we come across in his room - books strewn around as he is in search of the perfect book.  Apparently the 25 or so books on the floor just weren't the right ones.  I must say, we are very happy that he loves looking at and listening to books.  And he's even getting a little better at helping to put them back on the shelf.